Kitchen Reviews

Like another reviewer, we've had our coffee machine for about a year. We have experienced no mechanical problems. Considering that the machine gets used every day and then sent through the dishwasher, that's saying a lot. It has yet to make a bad pot of coffee. Since the quality of the unit's output is why anyone should buy a coffee machine, this is a great unit.

Okay, it makes great coffee, so why not a 5? Well, if you run it through a dishwasher, there's a handle of sorts on one side of the filter housing which always fills up with dishwasher water and gunk.

This is my 4th coffee pot in 8 years. I love the melitta though. Yes it's not fancy, but that's what I like. No expensive features to break. No light bulbs to burn out. No clocks to reset. Only good,hot,delicious coffee. One negative thing is not all the water drains from the filter holder, so make sure to rinse after each pot of coffee is made. That's something I can live with.

I have had this coffeemaker for almost a year now. That may not seem all that long, but in the days of disposible products I am happy to say it is still going strong. It keeps the coffee warm if not tongue burningly hot.

Biggest downside is that the cone is a bit tricky to get in and out. With a bit of practice -- it get's easier.

For a simple, inexpensive coffeemaker it is a good value -- especially if you need a black model to match your decor [smile].

I purchased their Jerkey Making Kit. I was skeptical of turning ground meat into jerky. I figured it would dry out, fall apart and turn to something like Pemican. To my great surprise it held together and I was using Venison (lower fat content). The Nesco Flavor packets were quite tasty. The Ground meat Jerkey lacks the feel of tradtional strip beef jerkey but makes it easier to eat, especially those with dental issues.

The one problem I have with the jerkey Kit is that it is too small, you get less than 1/2 lb of meat per load, so you have to load the gun at least twice, usually 3 times per pound of meat. Sometimes it can gugle and spit when their is air in the meat. Usually by the last half of the tube the air has call compressed out but then you have to reload. If you really want to make Jerky I would get a gun with a larger capacity. But this gun proved to me it could be done (I had a lot of doubt).

One tip, squirt the meat onto wax paper and then transfer it onto your drying racks (I use the nesco snackmaster) when I squirted directly onto the racks it shoved meat between the grills and made it tough to remove. Maybe I should try it with that herb tray insert

I used to spend hours cutting beef and then more time mixing marinade. After the jerky was done, lots of cleanup from drips on trays. With this machine, I can prepare 2 lbs of Jerky in about 10 min, then dehydrate until done. Cleanup is also very easy with a little soap and water. The spices taste great! My friends cant believe it's ground beef. I have been making jerky for about 10 years and have used this product for about 5. I have not gone back to the old way of making the jerky. This is easy, simple, clean and fast!!!!

I have owned a dehydrator for more than 10 years and tried many ways to make jerky. This is definately my favorite. The spice packets are the tastiest I have tried and get the best response from friends and family. I have not experienced any problems with the unit, although you do have to fill it quite often. But still, it doesn't take more than 20 to 30 minutes to make 12 trays of jerky sticks (12-15 sticks per tray). Also, if you pack the meet in with the end of a wooden spoon or similar object it eliminates the bubbling and spurting mentioned by others. I love this thing!!

Why doesn't the advertisement for the copper bowls show the size in pints, quarts, or quart and half instead of giving just size in inches. It appears your selling them for decoration purposes only.

IF USED FOR COOKING YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO REMOVED THE LACQUER:
Based on the literature on this web site, when I bought these bowls, I thought unless you cooked with them (namely heated them up with food in them), you could leave the lacquer on. However, once I bought the bowls, the directions said if used with food, the lacquer should be removed using a lacquer remover.

REMOVING THE LACQUER IS COSTLY, TIME CONSUMING AND MESSY:
That being said and looking at the laminate removers out there, most are made of methylene chloride a deadly poison. I opted for a more expensive safer citrus lacquer remover. Also you need to polish them (on the outside, to compensate for the loss of the lacquer) This lacquer remover, brush, gloves and scrubber almost tripled the cost of these bowls. I'm still not sure the lacquer had to be removed to use for mixing other food items, but I didn't want to risk lacquer coming off in my food, if this coating was not be left on there.

WHEN THE LACQUER IS OFF THE BOWLS TARNISH:
Once you take the lacquer off the bowls have exposed copper for providing extra lift to your eggs. However, when they are exposed to air they tarnish.

IF YOU ARE USING FOR OTHER THAN TO INCREASE VOLUME IN EGGS, MAYBE NOT THE BEST BUY:
I originally bought these bowls to mix up eggs for scrambled eggs and for other items as pancakes. I like the little ring that made them easy to hold onto. This is why they were purchased, not to fluff eggs. Also, these bowls have round bottoms and will easily roll off the countertop if unbalanced. This is better for decoration and fluffing eggs than day to day use.

A GOOD BUY IF FOR DECORATION ONLY:
Given that including the need to remove the lacquer and the continuous polishing required after, is most useful for fluffing eggs only, I would opt for these pans at this price for decoration only.

I ordered these for display only. I was surprised to read about having to remove the coating before use, but what the heck I was using them to hang on my kitchen wall anyway. I am very pleased with this product that cost me so little!!!

I bought 3 of these set for my first home after reading many positive reviews. I was quite disappointed when I noticed rust on almost very piece after one wash in my dishwasher. I tried changing detergents, but that did not help at all. These flatware sets are made from cheap steel and are definately not stainless.

This is a great first set of silverware. Its cheap price and colors are very attractive. However, even though they have rivets, they tend to rust around the rivets when left exposed to water longer than a few minutes. You get what you pay for so if you like the color they are worth it.

I bought this set based on Amazon reviews, but I'm disappointed. The knives do not cut even thought they are serated and I can't seem to find matching serving pieces.

The only plus are the big handles that have not cracked or faded.

I have owned Oneida for all of my 30 years as an adult. I have never had knives to tarnish and rust the way these knives have. The rest of the set is in great condition, but the knives look awful.
I had an Oneida set from Walmart for 8 years and the knives NEVER tarnished. I purchased my Flight from a better department store and am sick about it.

Although I was pleased with the look of this set, the blades of the knives did not hold up. Upon washing, black spots appeared that did not come off and appeared to be some sort of tarnish. I was very disappointed and returned the set. Brand new flatware should not look like that after a week of use.

Although my Satin Flight, Service for 8 is still in my hope chest I can tell you right now that this is a gorgeous, classy set of silverware. It's not only sturdy, but it's classic look can go from the everyday lunch to the formal dinner.

Also I know that the quality of Onieda is good. My mom has had her same set of Onieda (still looking great through 3 kids) and shes had it for 20 years. My grandmother who's set has been through 4 kids, 11 grandkids, and 1 greatgrandchild, is still ticking and still fine.

So for my granduation from high school a few years ago thats what I got. A gorgeous set of timeless silverware from Onieda in this pattern (which is by far the most classic and modern I've seen.)

This is a grea hope chest/ bridal pattern.

I mostly like this steamer; its shape allow steaming of larger items than round steamers of similar capacity, and it heats up and starts steaming quickly. The two tiers work nicely. It's great being able to fill it with water while it's still steaming.

However, I have two complaints:

First, the water-input lid is hard to use, with a tiny plastic nubbin intended as a handle but it can't be gripped at all. When refilling this steamer expect to include the step of dropping the lid, because it's not attached to the steamer.

Second, the timer can't be turned backwards. If you put in your broccoli and set it for 40 minutes, and then realize you only wanted to cook it for 10 minutes, you're out of luck. You'll have to either set a separate timer to know when to unplug the steamer, or wait 30 minutes before putting the broccoli in. This is just bad design. I've had other, cheaper steamers that didn't have this annoying lack-of-feature.

I'm not a raw veggie lover, but since I found this steamer VERY easy to use, I now eat ALL veggies. I did guess work with the timer at first....and when it was done, if I wanted softer veggies, I just turned the timer on again for a few more minutes. It does not take long to learn what to set the timer to after that. Every person I've had over for dinner raves about how good the veggies are! HEY, what about my other foods? I have not cooked rice in it yet. I am actually buying this for a gift today. Yes, for one of my dinner guests who never steamed veggies! It is that easy to use.

We've had two of these over the course of 4 years, which might not sound good, but we use it literally every single night, so that's over 700 uses at the max 1 hour setting for each unit. And the steamer itself still works after that time, but the plastic in the bottom-tier tub starts to break down and come apart, and it's as inexpensive to buy a new steamer as a new tub...

I agree with another user's comment that the timer can't be turned backward and this is annoying. We only use it for rice however, and so we always turn the dial all the way around. We chose this steamer over conventional rice steamers because we *didn't* want it to keep the rice warm - it just shuts off. (We make rice every night before going to bed for our dogs' food - don't ask!) We haven't used it for veggies, so can't comment on the performance there, but it does a fine job on rice. Though it does take an hour, much longer than stove-top or dedicated rice-steamers. But for us it's a set-it and forget-it type of thing.

I bought this toaster to replace a $10 supermarket special. I wasted $39.99.

Bought one of these recently for a young lady friend who likes to toast bagels. It toasts the cut side more than the outside if you like them that way, and it makes pretty good toast that's only slightly uneven. It will hold large slices, and does not launch the toast. It's good enough, but not nearly as nifty as the Sanyo Hello Kitty toaster.

If you like your bagels toasted on the cut side and warmed on the outside, this is the toaster for you. I've had another brand which claimed to have a bagel setting but didn't work like the Kitchen Aid. It also does thick sliced bread perfectly. I'm more than pleased. Now if we could only start making things in the USA again I'd be even happier.

Nice looking chrome gadget but we found it to perform poorly. The holding glass is small and tilted very easily. The halves stucked to the cup on the lever. You have to remove the fruit halves with your fingers (very impractical and messy). The cranker does not produce enough leveler pressure often leaving plenty of juice in the halves, no matter how hard you push. If you push to hard the stability of the juicer is not good. There are no suction feet to hold the machine in place. Can't recommend it. Far from being a so call "professional" equipment.

no directions to maintain or use came ith the juicer.did not seem to extract all the juice,but left pulp all around the edges.I want to return it when I learn how.Your return thing is down. thank You for asking. Lou Borczak borzzak@comcast.net

This is the best juicer I have ever used. It is easy and fast, and breaskdown is simple as well. This is very well made, and is heavy enough to be considered an industrial juicer, yet is small enough to store in the home kitchen. This juicer is a sure bet to better cocktails!

These just aren't as good since they started making them in China. But, they wouldn't sell many U.S. made for $50 if you can buy other brands made in China for $25. It is too bad because my old American made is still a better product although it is probably 50 years old or more. "Stunk up the house" should have read the directions. I think all the Nesco roasters come with instructions for pre-heating in a well-ventilated area. Buy new if you want, but don't pass up a chance to buy an old one at an estate sale or auction. You can always put a nonstick cookwell in an old one. My old one will be a 5-star model until the day it dies.

I have a kitchen with very little counter space so I have to be selective about the appliances I use. I purchased the Nesco 6-quart roaster to serve as a slow cooker and roaster. Since my purchase, I've used my roaster almost daily and I love the nonstick liner for ease of clean-up. Some of things I have cooked in the roaster include soups, stews, roast chicken, steamed brown bread and have made baked potatoes. All have turned out well.

Our Nesco roaster oven clearly advises the user to
"smoke-out" the roaster before use. The smoke-out
is to be done outdoors so that the bad odors from
initial use will not be bothersome.